Memphis is the United States’ fifth most dangerous metropolitan area for walking,
a new report shows. “Dangerous by Design: Solving the Epidemic of Preventable Pedestrian Deaths (and
Making Great Neighborhoods)” ranks America’s major metropolitan areas and states according
to a Pedestrian Danger Index that assesses how safe they are for walking. An update
of the 2004 “Mean Streets” report, “Dangerous by Design” was released by Transportation
for America and the Surface Transportation Policy Partnership.

The report notes that most pedestrian deaths are preventable because they occur on streets that are designed to encourage speeding traffic and
lack safe sidewalks, crosswalks, pedestrian signals and other protections. Fixing these problems is a matter of will on the part of state departments of transportation
and local communities, and of shifting spending priorities, the report concludes. National data show that children, older adults, disabled, and low-income Americans are being killed at disproportionate
rates. This has public health implications for safety and quality of life for our most
vulnerable residents.

“The way our communities and neighborhoods are designed, we have engineered incidental
walking out of the everyday lives of most Americans,” said Dr. Marian Levy, director
of the Master of Public Health Program at the University of Memphis. “We need to invest
in a making our communities safe for walking and bicycling. This would have beneficial
health outcomes by reducing obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular risk.”

Under the current federal transportation bill, less than 1.5 percent of available funds nationally are directed toward pedestrian
safety, although pedestrians account for nearly 12 percent of all traffic deaths and nine percent of total trips. Between 2007 and 2008, more than 700 children under the age of 15 were killed while
walking.

The report also examined how states and localities are spending federal money that
could be used to make the most dangerous streets safer. While walking conditions remain
perilous across the country, many communities are working to make their streets safe
and welcoming for people on foot or bicycle, the report shows. Communities across
the country are beginning to reverse the dangerous legacy of 50 years of anti-pedestrian
policies by retrofitting or building new roads as “complete streets” that are safer
for walking and bicycling as well as motorists.

“According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, if only 10 percent of
our population began a regular walking program, we could save $5.6 billion in national
costs associated with heart disease,” said Dr. Lisa Klesges, director of the U of
M School of Public Health. “By walking instead of driving, we would also reduce the
car emissions and air pollution that exacerbate asthma and other respiratory diseases.”

Seven organizations served on the steering committee for this report, working closely
with Transportation for America and the Surface Transportation Policy Partnership.
These organizations include the American Public Health Association, AARP, Smart Growth
America, America Bikes, America Walks, the Safe Routes to School National Partnership
and the National Complete Streets Coalition.